Save The Clock Tower: Right On Time

Out of the mainland and into the fire comes Tasmanian devils Save The Clock Tower. BLUNT spoke with vocalist Luke Vaessen on his homeland and the all-important debut album.

Launceston is a city with a population of roughly 110 thousand that loves its footy and generally keeps to itself. It’s only natural then, that it’s also home to an aggressive, uncompromising metalcore band like Save The Clock Tower. Yes, the band themselves admit that they are somewhat of a square peg in Launceston’s round hole. Rather than serve as a detriment, however, the band have let their location assist in defining them as a band.

“Being from Tassie, it is a lot harder to establish your name,” says Luke Vaessen, the band’s lead vocalist. “It means you have to get over that little stretch of water to play shows – and that’s something you have to do if you want to take your music to the next level. Luca Brasi are awesome guys who have been able to do really, really well with what they do, as has Lincoln Le Fevre. We’re friends with a lot of the different bands here, even though a lot of them are quite different to us. They’re all really great mates, and I think that means that there is a tighter and stronger community – I personally think that it’s even stronger than in Melbourne or Sydney. In those places, the range of bands is so much larger than here. For Tassie people, if you play music here then it’s kind of like family.”

The band have been kicking around since late 2010, with only a couple of EPs to their name prior to the recording and release of their debut LP, Wasteland. Having been picked up by New Jersey-based label Bullet Tooth, there is a lot of momentum for the band’s album which, Vaessen affirms, is a long time in the making.

“We’ve been writing ever since our last EP came out,” he says. “Just over two years of work has gone into this album. It’s a good feeling, obviously – but it’s obviously a little nerve-wracking wondering what people will make of it, given all of the time and effort and money that we’ve put into it. Overall, though, we’re just really excited for people to hear some new music.”

For Vaessen, the album from a lyrical standpoint is a documentation of everything that has happened to him over the last two years. It’s certainly easy to assume that attempting to do such a thing would have been a very difficult task, especially when it came down to deciding what would ultimately make the album cut – and you’d be right.

“I have a lot more lyrics written than what made the album,” he says. “Everything on the album is quite personal to me, but when it came down to it, I tried to pick the songs and the lyrics that, to me, I could generalise a little easier and have people relate to.”

With the release of Wasteland in the can, 2014 will see Save The Clock Tower touring extensively in support of it. “After the record’s released, we’ll be doing a whole heap of weekend shows where we fly in and out,” says Vaessen. “There’s more touring for the rest of the year, and it looks like we’re headed overseas hopefully next year.” The band have also picked up a support slot for Protest The Hero when they arrive in Hobart this September; which is something Vaessen is extremely excited about. “I’ve been listening to those guys since they released Kaiza – they’re an amazing, incredible band. Getting the chance to even watch them, let alone play with them, is pretty awesome.”